When Pages Start Turning
by JRWStudios
Summary: Matt Williams is a popular writer of survival books, but unlike his competitors all of the tips he writes down come from his own experience. Charlotte "Charlie" Baker is a small town bookstore owner, and a fan. After chatting a little he takes her out to try his tips, but quickly find themselves in trouble when a storm rolls in without warning. Can the duo make it out of the woods?
1. Prologue: The Book

Prologue: The Book

The man sighed, putting down his pen. The shipment order in front of him could not hold his attention any longer: he stood and walked to the window of his cabin. The man looked up at the clear night sky, reaching over to pick up his cup of coffee. He sipped on the hot beverage, letting another, softer, sigh escape him.

"Get's a little lonely out here eh? Heh, but isn't that what you wanted in the first place…"

The man returned to his desk to retrieve his pen. He opened a notebook to a clean page-

And began to write.


	2. Chapter 1: The Book Store

Chapter 1: The Book Store

Sunlight began to trickle through the painted window of an odd brick building, nestled amongst the rotting, collapsed buildings of a small town's former Main Street. It stood proudly, a "Now Open" banner hanging above the door alerting the citizens to the new store. Book shelves lined the floors, with a cute pair of chairs under one of the front windows. A woman soon unlocked the pretty painted door that lead inside. She took a moment to walk up to an old tree trunk that spread from the floor to the ceiling, where branches and leaves were painted spreading out. Faux branches hung randomly from these painted branches, with lights strung amongst them to give the store an enchanting glow. Even the odd shaped piece of bark didn't seem out of place, except to those curious enough to touch it.

The woman smiled, walking over to a painted counter with a register on it. She yawned, reaching under to grab an apron when the bell on the door rang.

"New shipment's here Miss baker! Where ya want it?"

The woman yawned again, finally putting on a pot of coffee. "The empty table at the front… Hey Lance, would you mind unpacking them?"

"Yes ma'am." the young man put the boxes down, pulling out a knife to open them. He began to stack them neatly on the table, chuckling as he glanced at the tired woman who was struggling to tie her apron as she stared at the coffee pot.

"These are the new release from Matt Williams." he held up a copy as her wide-eyed gaze shot to him. "Aren't you a fan of his?"

She stalked over, snatching the book from his hand. Much to his amusement, the woman walked over to the cash register, ringing up the book to pay for. She sat behind the counter to read, leaving her assistant to finish setting up the books for display. He simply chuckled at her, doing what needed to do to open up.

"Are you a prepper Miss Baker?"

"Hm?"

"A prepper? I mean, all of Matt's books are about survival right? You know, in the woods and stuff?"

"No, no. While I will say it certainly helps to be prepared, I read his books because each one is written from his own _personal_ experiences."

"You mean all that stuff he writes-"

"Is stuff he has actually tested himself."

"Wow." the boy looked at the books in awe. "Maybe I should read them."

"You should." she set the book down to fix herself a cup of coffee. "Take the boxes out back, then grab the paint and touch up the windows."

"Yes ma'am." and he was gone. The woman shook her head, glancing at the book again before she straightened up to great a suit-clad man that entered.

"Welcome to Baker's Books!"

"Well, well Charlie! This place looks nice!"

"Thank you Mayor Brisbane. Coffee?"

"Oh yes, please. Hm, it won't cost me extra will it?"

"No sir, only the books cost." Charlie smiled, setting her coffee aside to make him a cup as he wandered around. He finally settled in one of the chairs at the front, chuckling when she joined him. The Mayor took his cup from her and looked around once more.

"You know, when you first came to the courthouse with the papers to buy this old place from the county, I laughed and told my secretary I'd sign 'em because I didn't think you'd be able to fix this place! But then when you came in with the business papers and I saw this address on there, I was plum shocked! I'm glad to see you actually did something with this old eyesore Charlie."

She laughed. "Oh so what if the roof and second floor were caved in and there was a forest sprouting in the middle?"

The man eyed the old tree in the center. "Oh yes… You did an amazing thing with that tree."

"Oh please."

"No really, you even used most of the wood from it in the store!"

"It was just something I thought about when I saw the place."

"Oh?"

"Yes sir. That tree is the reason I wanted _this_ building."

Lance chuckled as he passed by with the two paint buckets. "Morning Mr. Mayor. Miss Baker, the windows are done."

"Good, get your apron on and flip the sign."

"yes ma'am."

"Well Charlie I guess I better be going. Thanks for the coffee."

"Of course." she watched the mayor leave before sending a smirk Lance's way. "Pssh, Charlie? Really?"

"Isn't your name Charlotte?"

"Yeah, I just meant how he assumed he can call me that."

"Ah."


	3. Chapter 2: The Writer

Chapter 2: The Writer

Matt groaned as he found himself lying on the cold, hard ground, covered in a pile of leaves. He slowly go up, dusting himself off before gathering his tarp.

"Scratch that… So what next?" he listened to his stomach growl. "Right, home."

The man trudged through the woods to his truck, getting in quickly so as to make it back faster. It was about a twenty minute drive through dense backcountry to make it to his cabin, and once he arrived he found himself both amused and annoyed to find a small package on his front porch. As soon as his truck was parked he made his way up the steps to retrieve the box. The address was handwritten in a near-calligraphic way, making him slightly more cautious. The return address merely said "Baker's Books", so he decided he may as well open it.

It took a moment, but once he was settled on his couch he did just that, surprised to find a letter and a coffee cup enclosed. Matt chose to examine the cup first, finding a small foil package labeled "Maple Mountain" inside, fitting once he saw the delicately hand-painted orange and red leaves on the brown glass. It even said "Matt's Cup" on one side, with a tag attached to it with an offer of free coffee every time he brought the cup to the shop. With his curiosity peaked, he looked at the letter.

{ _Dear Mr. Williams,_

 _I am pleased to let you know that your latest release is the new hot seller in my store! However, that is not the main reason for my writing you. You see Mr. Williams, I am very much a nature lover myself, so I find your knowledge of the woods to be very much an attraction to me. Would it be alright of me to ask you for a few tips? I understand if you simply shake this off as a joke, I just wanted to ask._

 _Sincerely yours,_

 _Charlotte Baker_

 _P.S. the coffee and mug are not bribes, they are gifts. The same cannot be said for the offer, however._ }

Matt found himself chuckling as he read her closing, thinking to be quite funny that she seemed eager to speak with him. He carefully folded the letter, tucking it away in the pocket of his flannel shirt. His pet wolf watched him a tired gaze, too busy lying in the near-by armchair to do much else.

"Hey Kuma, wanna go for a ride?" the wolf's head shot up, ears pricked. "Then we better get clean eh?"

Kuma yipped, hopping down to run for the back of the cabin where the bathroom was. His owner followed, not wanting him to make _another_ mess. The wolf hopped into the shower, sitting on the floor to wait. When Matt finally stepped in he laughed at the beast, watching him try to bite the water.

"Settle down."

* * *

Charlie smiled and closed the register, handing a receipt to an elderly man. "Come back soon Mr. Cyr."

"Of course! Take care."

"You too!" she watched him leave before standing up. "Last customer of the day! Hey Kim, we're closing up!"

A young girl's head popped up from beside the counter. "Okay! Can I come again tomorrow?"

"Of course you can, just ask your mom first."

"Yes ma'am! Bye Charlie!"

"Bye Kim." the woman chuckled, reaching over to flip the sign to 'closed' as soon as the little girl was gone. However she was a bit surprised to see an old beat up pick up truck pull into a parking spot right in front of the store, just moments after the girl disappeared down the side-walk. A tall blonde man with a pair of shades hiding his eyes hopped out, and she might not have recognized him at first if she hadn't seen a familiar looking mug in his hand. She hopped up, dashing to the door to open it for him.

"Mr. Williams!"

"Hello there. You closed already?"

"N-No! No I just forgot about the sign. Come in!"

He whistled, making a wolf's head pop up from the bed of the truck. The wolf yipped, hopping out onto the concrete to run over to his owner's side, where he sat between the two. Charlie held out a hand, letting him sniff it before pushing his head into her palm.

"Can he-"

"As long as he doesn't try to use the bathroom on the tree."

"Tree?" Matt followed her in, and blinked in surprise when he saw what she meant. "Is that real?"

"Yes, it was growing here when I bought this property. I had actually bought this place just for the tree but…" she sighed. "It was disease ridden, and mostly rotten. So I carved out the center and hollowed it, but had the outer lining of the tree injected with concrete. The bark and stuff was covered in a special coating as well, so it's real but won't die."

"You hollowed it? Why?"

Charlie smirked. "Why don't you go see for yourself?"

The man narrowed his eyes, pulling off his shades to tuck into his pocket as he approached the tree. It was quite large, so large it might even be hiding something… His gaze immediately went to the odd piece of bark that seemed to be sticking out. He pressed it, surprised went it sunk in but even more shocked when he had to step back to avoid the hidden door as it popped open. Matt glanced inside the tree, finding it well lit. There was a chair sitting perfectly inside it, with high shelves lining the curves of the tree. There were books upon books lining those shelves, and he could see no tag on any of them.

Most of them seemed quite old, now that he really looked.

"It's a hidden reading spot."

"Yes." she walked up behind him. "I made it for anyone curious enough to try and touch that piece of bark. It was actually easier than trying to remove the entire root system."

"I bet. Did you do all this yourself?"

"Well, I had a little help from my father and brother."

"I see. This is actually pretty cool." he stepped inside the tree, only to sit in the chair. "How'd you come up with this idea?"

She shrugged. "Came to me in a dream I guess. But I'm pretty sure you didn't come here just to chat about an old tree."

Matt held out the mug. "Nope, came because you asked me for advice."

Charlie chuckled again, taking the mug and heading for the coffee maker. "Yeah. Let me make you a cup, then we can chat."

"Alright."


	4. Chapter 3: Tips from a Pro

Chapter 3: Tips from the Pro

Charlie smiled as she and Matt took up spots in the two chairs in the front window of her shop. He took a sip of his coffee as Kuma laid down between them, and reached down to pet him real quick.

"So, what do you want to know?"

"Anything and everything."

"Well that's specific." he rolled his eyes.

"Well like I said, just some tips. You can skip all the common sense ones."

"Of course. Well, hm, what do you usually have problems with?"

She frowned. "I can't exactly camouflage well. It's caused me a few issues in the past."

"Scent or sight?"

"Sight."

He looked thoughtful. "Are we talking campground wise?"

"Yeah."

"Well, have you tried taking things from your surroundings and using them for cover? Leaves and light branches and things like that could help out. Clearings are good for camping, but you should try to have your tent set up just outside the clearing, so you can hide it easier."

"I tried that, and it didn't really didn't work well."

"How strong is your tent?"

"Titanium rods and kevlar fabric."

"So pretty strong." he looked concerned. "Well maybe your problem is more with the materials you use to hide it."

"Maybe."

Charlie didn't seem the least bit worried with the time as the two began to chat more deeply, discussing everything from types of tents to little survival tricks to their own experiences in the woods. Even as the sun soon disappeared below the horizon and the street lights outside came on the two were still sitting in those chairs, still chatting away. Neither one of them seemed to be concerned with the steadily growing night behind them, laughing and drinking coffee as Kuma snored between their feet.

"And then you wrap the line and pass the other one through it."

"Oh, I kept screwing up before I made it that far."

"You probably didn't use the right line either."

"True."

"Hey, maybe some of this would be easier if you actually tried this stuff out."

"Well maybe it would. I'll have to take a day off soon."

"Better ask the boss."

"...Boss said yes." she smirked, turning to look out the window. "Oh geeze, it's already late?"

Matt gave his watch a look. "Well shit, it's nearly midnight. We've been talking for hours…"

"Midnight?" she yawned. "Oh, that's why… well I can't let you drive home this late. It would be better if you just stayed the night?"

"And what, you expect me to sleep in this tiny little chair?"

"No way, you're sleeping on the couch." Charlie stood, motioning for him to follow her as she headed for the counter. After waking Kuma, he followed her through the door behind it, and to the back of what appeared to be a storage room to a spiral staircase. Heading up it, he was slightly surprised to be greeted by a stain glass door and a bench.

"Shoes off." Matt did as he was told, placing his mud caked boots beside her suddenly dainty looking converse before following her 'inside'. It was a small, homey kitchen, living room that he stepped into, and she motioned now to a dusty old couch.

"It's a fold-out. I'll go get some blankets and a pillow, and you decide if you feel like moving my coffee table or not." one glance at the heavy wood table told him he'd be better off using the couch as it was. "I have some sweat pants that should fit you as well, do you want them?"

"Sure." he was kind of on edge, confused, as he sat down on the couch. Kuma yawned and curled up under the safety of the coffee table, soon snoring once more. Charlie left them behind as she went to another room, but quickly returned with everything as promised.

"Feel free to make yourself breakfast in the morning."

"Thanks."


	5. Chapter 4: That's Not Breakfast!

Chapter 4: That's Not Breakfast!

A whine was heard somewhere in the distance, far beyond the black abyss that was currently engulfing anything. It took a wet tongue across the woman's cheek to make her open her eyes, wincing as her vision was engulfed instead by bright lights. She glared at the wolf that had awoken her for a moment, but when reality set in she was out of bed in an instant.

If it was light out, then she was late to open the shop.

However, when she heard the bell ring downstairs, her panic changed straight to confusion. She still hurried to get dressed, but she wasn't so calm about getting downstairs.

Actually, she slid down the banister, nearly breaking her neck doing so.

The woman quickly opened the storeroom door, and was shocked beyond belief when she was Matt standing behind the counter, handling business for her. Lance laughed when he passed by with a customer, making Matt turn from the purchase he was ringing up to look at her.

"Morning Charlie. Sleep well?"

"Matt?!" She pulled on her apron, making a cup of coffee as she watched him finish what he was doing. "What are you still doing here?"

"You were asleep, and your assistant over there was banging on the door to get in. He asked me to wake you up, but I figured you should rest some so I took over for you."

"He's a pretty hard worker Ms. Baker!" her 'assistant's' laugh was heard once more, from somewhere in the back aisle. "You should keep 'em around!"

With his customer gone Matt stepped away from the counter, allowing Charlie to take a seat on the stool about a foot away to drink her coffee. "Kuma still upstairs?"

"Kuma is the only reason I am _downstairs_. If he hadn't have licked me awake I'd still be curled up in bed."

"Wait, he got in your room? But your door was shut when I came down."

"I guess he must know how to open doors."

"...That would explain how he keeps getting in the bathroom when I'm not home…"

"So, did you actually make breakfast? Because it looks like you came straight down here and took over my job." she put on an amused look, getting up to help another customer be checked out.

"Yeah, I did. It's called a cup of coffee, which, I will admit you make better than me."

"Wow, I'll take that as a nice pat on the back."

"Do you want a gold star too?" he smirked, watching her turn to face him as the older man she had helped left. "Or is my complement enough?"

"A gold star actually sounds pretty nice…" she laughed, shaking her head. "I'm just kidding. Uh, but when are you going to leave?"

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No!" she looked away in embarrassment as soon as the over-excited word left her. "N-no, it's not that I want you to leave, it's just I'm sure you're busy and all."

"Well," he rubbed his chin. "Actually I need to leave _to_ get busy. I promised you a camping trip."

"A-are you serious?" she nearly dropped her coffee cup, just as she had lifted it up to finish it.

"Of course I am." he opened the storeroom door, giving a whistle that made Kuma come running down. "Well, I better be off to get ready. Are you free Saturday?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I'll meet you at the ridge."

"Okay." she watched him and his pet leave, trying to ignore Lance as he snickered on his way over.

"You dating him or what Charlie?"

"No, he just stayed the night because we were talking so much last night."

"Mhm, so, someone who is 'just staying the night' was comfortable enough to just sleep in his boxers?"

"What?"

"Oh yeah, after I convinced him to come downstairs and let me in at eight this morning, he showed up at the door in some maple leaf boxers with a serious case of bedhead."

"Oh wow..."


	6. Chapter 5: Saturday Morning

Chapter 5: Saturday Morning

Matt sighed as he tied down the final strap of his roof rack, watching Kuma circle in the front seat. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon, and signalling that the man had once again gotten up and gotten ready a little too early. Yet, this time he wasn't beating himself up about it, he was actually kind of excited. He hadn't gone out with another person since he was a child, but now he had a chance to go out with a someone who seemed to know her stuff.

If she would show up sometime soon.

Matt glared down his long drive-way, but softened his face when he saw a jeep bouncing into view. The snow tires ripped through the snow that had started falling out of nowhere the day before, skidding to a stop a few feet away from him. A flannel bound woman soon popped out, smiling brightly as she walked over. Charlie tossed a worn red and white bag to him, reaching into his truck to pet Kuma.

"Did you pack a town in that rack?" she laughed.

"Nah, just enough for two, and extra in case of emergency. It's snowing, so I'm going to be extra cautious about that too."

"Okay then." Charlie grinned, walking around the truck to hop in the passenger seat. "I'm not gonna complain about that!"

Matt chuckled, joining her in the cab a few moments later. As soon as he was buckled in, he tore off through the woods, driving fast down a trail Charlie couldn't believe she didn't see on her way in. She watched carefully as he maneuvered the old truck up and down ridges she wasn't sure she would have been able to follow him over even in her jeep.

"Wow, no wonder you didn't want me driving."

"Nope. Don't worry, it's only a few more miles to the spot where we'll be camping. I picked a spot I know kinda well, you know, since it's your first time doing this with me."

"Want to see if I can spot the important things you already know are there?"

"Precisely." he glanced at her. "So, what can you tell me so far?"

"You're heading North, toward the cliffs of the mountain range, following the river. Judging by the way it's getting rougher and rougher as we get farther North, I'd say we'll be fairly close to the waterfall, and to the caves." she smirked at him. "You're also putting us deep in bear territory, so any cave we have to take even a brief break in will have to be carefully checked for bears, wolves, or mountain lions."

"Very good." he pointed at the rifles behind him. "And that's why these are here. I trust you actually know how to shoot, right?"

"Give me that .22 and I'll shoot what ever I need to."

"Cocky, heh, I like that." he smirked, finally pulling to a spot in an area damn near exactly as she guessed it. Just through the tress up ahead, she could already see the caves, and as she got out of the truck she could hear the waterfall.

"I guess I for being as cocky as I was, I was damn near right."

"Mm hmm," he shoulder one of the rifles as he got out of the cab, handing the other one to her before beginning to unload the truck. "There's a cave directly ahead of us with an orange line around the entrance, take Kuma and go check it out."

"Right." Charlie took a moment to check her gun, then held it ready as she called for Kuma to follow her. The wolf barked and walked just ahead of her, crouched low but walking fast. A few minutes later, Charlie returned.

"It and the surrounding caves are clear. Kuma's sitting in the entrance waiting for us."

"Yeah, 'cause he knows I'd make his furry little ass carry some of this too." Matt grunted, passing some bags to her. It some how only took one trip, and soon enough the duo was getting a tent set up, right inside the cave. It had proven to be much more spacious than she had orginally thought when she saw that tent stand up inside, far back from the entrance of the cave.

"Did you bring a tent for yourself Charlie?"

"Uh yeah," the woman retrieved the bag that held her tent. "But it's nowhere near as big as yours. I couldn't even fit a cot inside it, but it's all I have."

"We can use it to keep our food in." Matt reasoned, calming her down when she noticed that she seemed slightly embarrassed. "That way, we'll know if something tries to get it."

"Alright." and under his direction, the tent (that actually made him cringe when he saw just how small it really was) was soon set up ahead of the tent that they would be sleeping in. While she carefully went about putting the food and other necessities inside it, Matt set up a pair of cots in the main. Kuma yawned and quickly claimed one the second his master's back was turned, leaving the blonde to cursed and retreat to aid his companion.

"Hey Charlie, how's it-" he stopped when he saw the woman sitting up in front of a fire, sitting on a damp log he realized she must have just pushed in with a pile of sticks and dry leaves beside her.

"Hm, did you say something Matt?" she turned to him, munching on a marshmallow.

"Uh, how long was I in that tent?"

"About ten minutes." Charlie shrugged, picking up a carefully chosen stick to put another marshmallow on. "Want one?"

"No thanks."

She gave another shrug, holding the stick over the flame. "Get the cots set up?"

"Yeah."

"Good, because it's looks like the snow is about to start coming down heavy."


	7. Chapter 6: Snow

Chapter 6: Snow

Charlie looked out in worry as the snow began to pile up outside the mouth of the cave. Matt was busy stocking up as much firewood as he could, and as he came back in with his tenth load, his face held a grim look.

"The river has frozen over, and parts are starting to be covered with snow."

"I see. We'll have to be careful going near the water then."

"There's also another problem, Charlie." he stacked the wood against the wall before joining her on the log. "The truck won't start."

"So we're effectively stuck." she stood, walking toward the entrance.

"Yeah. I know this isn't quite what you signed for but… what are you doing?"

The woman had knelt, and was now pushing the snow out from the cave mouth, packing it together like a wall. "My daddy always told me "if you get stranded in the snow, make a wall out of it. It'll keep the heat in your shelter." It always seemed to work well."

"It does but…"

"But the rocks will sap the heat right out from under us. We have cots - go push them together, combine all our blankets and sleeping bags, and have Kuma lay under them so they will already be warm." she stood, turning to him. "I can't do much when it comes to greener times, but when it comes to snow survival, I got it covered."

Matt scratched his cheek. "I have never been so attracted to a woman in my life."

"Good, 'cause we're going to have to stay really close together when we sleep. As much contact as we can get." she sent a smirk his way. "Hope you can handle it Matt."

"Yup." he got up to do what he had been told to do. Kuma seemed pleased to curl up under all of the blankets Matt piled on top of the united cots, so he was sure the bed would be nice and toasty by the time the two retired for the with his work, the man soon left the tent, and looked on it surprise as his companion finished the snow wall.

"That was fast."

"I've had to do this many times over to much larger areas. This is relatively small compared to what dad would make me cover."

"He sounds… strict."

"Nah, he just wanted to make sure we didn't end up as an unknown body lost in the woods." she deadpanned at him. "He was bit concerned about survival skills, maybe because he he was once in a small plane crash and the only reason he and the other two people survived was because he had grown up practicing survival skills…"

"Well, that would do it." Matt actually looked impressed. "Can I meet your dad when we get done with this little trip? He sounds interesting, from an author's point of view of course."

"He's the reason I started reading your books in the first place. He's bought every single one of 'em, and reads them regularly. If he hadn't shoved that first book in my face that day…" she trailed off. "Yeah, I think I'd still be a little lost on a couple things…"

"Well then." he scoffed. "Glad he introduced you I guess..."

"I am too," Charlie shot him a smile. "Because despite the circumstances, this is pretty awesome."

"You're so weird..."

"Yet you seem to like it!" she smirked, standing to walk over with her hands on her hips. "Don't you, Mr. Williams?"

"Don't make me toss you out into the snow."

"If you did I'd just go to your cabin until I could get my jeep to run again. Don't for a minute believe that I couldn't break in without leaving a trace."

"...you know, I think if we'd met in high school you'd be best friends with my brother."

"Is that a compliment?"

"That's... about thirty percent a compliment and fifty percent amusement."

"What about that other twenty percent?"

"Mild curiosity and horror, fifteen and five." he sat in front of the fire, finally unzipping his coat. After taking a moment to muse over his little percentage, Charlie joined him on the log and couldn't help but to copy the motion. Matt looked at her in curious amusement as her coat slid off her shoulders, leaving her there in a nice flannel button up with a thermal shirt beneath, but there was a line of silver along her collar that caught his eye.

"What's that necklace you're wearing?"

She shot him a look, pulling the silver chain out to reveal a tiny fleur de lis. "It was my mother's... it's chain broke and I haven't gotten a new one for it yet... it's supposed to be a short necklace... my father gave it to her on a date, after he found out she was from Quebec."

"I see... what happened to-"

"Car crash. She hit a moose driving home from work in a tiny little car... the impact flipped her several times... she died in the hospital." Charlie sighed. "That's why dad hates my jeep... he doesn't want me ending up the same way..."

"That's understandable. I'm sure he wouldn't object to my truck then." Matt couldn't help but wrap an arm around her shoulders, only then realizing how small she was compared to him. Eager to get off the gloomy subject, he looked around, finally settling his gaze on the smaller tent. "So, what should we eat for supper, hm?"

"That beef stew looked pretty good. Especially now that the snow's gotten worse..."

"Beef stew it is."


	8. Chapter 7: This Isn't Letting Up

Chapter 8: This Isn't Letting Up

Charlie looked on in mild annoyance at Kuma as he slept on her jacket in front of the fire, unable to do anything to get it back for risk of pissing off the wolf. Matt chuckled, not willing to do anything to help.

"It's a lost cause."

"That's my favorite jacket." she scowled, looking at him through narrowed eyes. "You could get it back if you wanted to."

"But I don't want to."

"That's the problem."

"Nah. Besides, time to turn in for the night anyway." he smirked, turning away from her to go into the toasty warm tent. He could hear her muttering as she followed, and kicked off his boots as he pulled off his shirt. "We have about fifteen inches of blankets on top, and about five under. I'd ditch some layers and make a nest beneath us, and when Kuma comes in he can sleep on them and keep them warm."

"Ditch some, but-" she broke off when he turned to her, and her eyes raked over his chest, lingering on the scars that marked the otherwise perfect skin. The most prominent ones held her attention longer, until he cleared his throat and moved her attention elsewhere.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare." Charlie unbuttoned her flannel shirt, dropping it before pulling off her thermal shirt and dropping it as well. She stood there in front of him in a black racerback tank top with a big red maple leaf on it. Her bra was clearly visible beneath it, the red straps bright against her untanned skin.

He shook his head, pulling back several layers of cloth to crawl onto one of the cots. "Don't worry about it, just hurry up and get over here before I start getting cold."

"Yeah." she pulled off her boots, then sat down beside him on the other cot. "How long do you think the snow will keep falling?"

"Doesn't matter. If it gets any worse we'll have Kuma pull us back to the cabin."

"What, the whole truck?" she gave him a weird look as she lay down beside him.

"No there's a sled in the back."

"Oh. You're always prepared aren't you?"

"Of course." he pulled the blankets up over her, then made her squeak when he wrapped his arm around her waist. "Now get to sleep or I'll make you pull the sled instead of Kuma."

"Bah!" Charlie growled under her breath, but was quick to let out a sigh and shocked Matt when she relaxed, pushing herself into his chest. "You're lucky you're so warm or I'd never get to sleep."

"Doesn't sound like you're getting to sleep anyway."

"Hard to when you keep talking."

"Then stop replying to everything I say."

The woman rolled her eyes, pulling her pillow closer to her so she could bury her face in it. Matt smiled slightly, and chuckled as he buried his face in her hair. She shivered as his breath dusted her neck, trying to ignore the warmth pooling in her chest so she could get to sleep.

It wasn't easy, but his steady breathing soon lulled her to sleep, and when she did finally open her eyes again she found herself trapped in the man's arms with her face buried in his scarred chest. Not that it lasted very long, as soon as he realized she was awake Matt loosened his grip.

"Finally. I think I was losing feeling in my arms waiting for you."

"Why didn't you move before?"

"I tried, but you bit me."

"I did what?"

"You _bit me_. Pretty hard too. Left a mark for a while there." Matt smirked. "I thought I was gonna have to bite back to get you off."

Charlie huffed, blushing fiercely as she sat up. She heard the series of loud _pops_ as Matt sat up as well, and glanced at him again. He reached up to ruffle her already messy hair, smiling at her.

"Get your clothes on and go check the snow."

"Yeah." she nodded, slipping out of the blankets and carefully pulling her clothes out from under a still sleeping Kuma. The wolf huffed and twitched his ears at her, shifting with each tug until she was finally able to actually get dressed. Matt was arguing with the wolf as the woman left the tent, heading for the snow wall she had built the previous day. She made sure to grab the small shovel she had brought with her before actually going up to the wall, and started digging out until she hit air. When Matt joined her he found her clearing out a bit of snow.

"It looks like the snow is up to about my hips, but it's not packed together even at the bottom. Too soft for a sled but too much for the truck."

"Alright… we're about… maybe… ten miles from the cabin. We can toss everything in the truck, take the blankets and your small tent and a bag of food and hike back. Leave the truck until I can come back for it."

"We would be better off sending Kuma ahead of us so we have a clear trail back to the cabin. We came through some pretty treacherous terrain on our way here, and I will don't wanna slip down that cliff because I didn't see some ice."

"You make a good point there. I forget other people aren't as used to these woods as I am."

"We should set out as soon as we can."

"Alright."


End file.
